Thursday, 18 December 2008

A Christmas edition of the BB series. Sorry about the delay its been a hectic couple of months but hopefully I can start more regular posts. This comp came about as I was getting tracks ready and seemed to have a whole load of female (or female fronted) acts. A really nice mixture of the rocking, the weird and the beautiful on this mix. My standout tracks, Mmmm its hard but my current favs from this batch are Throwing Muses brilliant Firepile, the wonderful Dreamtime and the ever bizarre and fantastic garage rock from Shonen Knife.

Thursday, 30 October 2008

Blessed Ethel were one of those bands that fell into a hole in between "NME" Genres touring with NWOTNW bands such as S*M*A*S*H and The Nubiles as well as Britpop bands such as Lush and The Longpigs. They were an altogether spikier proposition than those bands with Sara Doran's voice grabbing your attention like a cross between Courtney Love and Debbie Harry. This album (1996) was the first and only long player they released, although there were several non album singles such as "Dog" and "Rat" They came to my attention supporting S*M*A*S*H and bought the single 3 Minuite Mind at the little record stall at the gig.

Friday, 24 October 2008

21 now that conjures memories, 10 years ago i spent mine very very drunk on a revolving dancefloor in one of Leeds most cheesy venues (Which is now not unsurprisingly i am told some kind of a lap dancing/ Hawaian club!) Planet Earth. There is no direct correlation between that night and this mix as I am confident they didn't play Blessed Ethel in there! I think it was more KC and the Sunshine Band and the Spice Girls.... Anyway back to the mix, I have tried to add acts I haven't included before such as Big Boy Tomato, The Nubiles and Vent 414 and a great Smaller track (He's Digsy dont you know) alongside a couple of favs like NMA and Cud (Leeds link!) all topped off with a hair metal classic as your Track 15 curveball!1) The Nubiles - Without Walking

Wednesday, 15 October 2008

Rotterdamnation was the second Half Time Oranges album (Clive Baker Set Fire to Me was the first album on Rutland Records) this was released in 1996, they were based around East Anglia. I have a vague recollection of camping on a freind of a freinds floor around 96 one drunken New Years Eve in Norwich and the guitarist from the band was one of the flatmates, Claim to fame or what!

I beleive there were shared members with the equally football obsessed Des Lynam Allstars who were also based around Norwich. I would love to get hold of some of the other Rutland records releases but they are impossible to get hold of. In fact the much revered (on these blogs) Spinning Jennys had a track on a Rutland compilation album called Shiver me Timbers, which i have never managed to track down. Anyway hope you enjoy this jangletastic album.

PS I could find a picture of the band anywhere so here is the inspiration for track3!

1)Any team will do2)Terrace Girl3)Vinnie Jones4)Six Point Christmas5)Panini6)Zig Zag to the Onion Bag7)A Gospel Song8)Second City Blues9)Billy Danes grown up10)The Girl from 4B11)Theme From Orange12)Yesterdays Hero13)Occupation14)Stars15)Moving the Goalposts

Friday, 10 October 2008

As a tribute to the brilliantly named Toronto Blue Jays player we watched whilst in Canada, it really is one of the best names ever.

Anyway to the music, a real rag bag of the poppy the heavy the funky and kitsch. Kicking off with the Nivens and for those of you who have downloaded the recent Nivens album posting you will be able to sing along to this already! Back to the Planet are a band for about 6 months i listened to constantly and although this rip is not the greatest you get the idea. A second Norfolk band with a track from Noisebox EP2 from the powerhouse of Republic, The best Bivouac track imo and a woonderful ditty by the scottish indie pop legends BMX Bandits. Please let me know what you think good or bad and im off to rip some more gems! Laters

PS If anyone has a copy of either Juliana Hatfields - Everybody Loves me But You or The Family Cat - River of Dreams (The single version not the muddier album version) please please please post it as i love those two tunes and i cant find my copies for love nor money. Ta

Wednesday, 8 October 2008

Seconds Out Round One was compilation album of session tracks recorded in 1991 for the Mark Radcliffe radio show Hit The North, released by Imaginary RecordsThe album consisted of three tracks each from Scorpio Rising, Leatherface, Doctor Phibes and the House of Wax Equations and The Boo Radleys

Sorry for the delay holiday and work commitments have meant the longest gap yet for BB. This is a great little compliation of session tracks and one which is very hard to get hold of. Hope u enjoy!

Another Norfolk based band from the early ninties and one that had a small and dedicated local following but very little national profile but were strangely very very popular on the continent. This is a lovely little jangle pop album that i have enjoyed re-visiting lately. There is a nice entry on thier website that explains it better than I can......

"There is a sense of freedom in the vastness of the fields of East Anglia and in the gentle cultured burbling of the city of Norwich that seems to inspire people to pick up guitars and do it right......THE NIVENS were inspired thus. The coming together in the mid '80's would allow them to hone their own brand of jangle-psychedelia over the next few years to the point where a more-or-less chance meeting with French indy label Danceteria lead to their first serious single and album releases in 1989 - "Shake it from the Top" and "Shake" the album peaking at No. 9 in France - and also achieving a playlist on Radio One, and getting into the top 3 in the French "Best" magazine readers poll(the French equivalent of the Melody Maker UK poll). Seven singles, two albums, a mini album, a double album singles/unreleased tracks compilation, A harder musical edge fusing acid grooves to the REM / Byrds / Smiths sensibilities. - And a standing joke that with some 25 former Nivens out there ( including several luminaries from past Norwich bands of legendary standing like the Farmer's Boys ) it is only a matter of time before the band do a gig where the guest list exceeds the venue's capacity! a splendid time is guaranteed for all..."

Thursday, 4 September 2008

Released just 5 months after and including 5 songs from the Sebastopol Rd album the only official live album the band released and apparently recorded straight of the soundboard (Live in the mix if you like) I like this album as it not only contains some great songs but is also quality wise what you always hoped those coloured live bootleg cassettes bought from the market would be like but never were. MC4 amazingly have never had a best of or a retrospective CD brought out which is criminal really as they easily have a double album's worth of fine material. I liked this so much I actually have it on tape and CD!

Tuesday, 2 September 2008

A mix dedicated to the most important deadline day signing. No not Berbatov, not Pavlyuchenko, Robiniwho? i say, no its the ageing bald veteran striker Antoine Sibierski who will propel Norwich back to the Premiership!!

Anyway music! As we move towards a landmark BB20 mix i have the usual mixture of known unknown excellent tracks. From the power of the Fatima Mansions and At the Drive in to the delicacy of Frente (See i told you i would include it Mr Veggie) to the jangle of Thousand Yard Stare and the artistry of Shack. Finished off with a disco based Track15 topping from Mr Vannessa Phelps himself Phats and Small! PS - The Thousand Yard Stare track sound remarkably like a song my college band wrote called Where are you now a couple of years earlier, which can only be a good thing in my biased mind.

Monday, 1 September 2008

Not as camp an album as the title may suggest. One that people have asked me about and i have finally found in a box. An excellent electro/dance/ alternative album from the early ninties London Club Scene.

If? were a 3 peice from London and were briefly in a mini scene (Thanks NME) with the likes of Slipstream and Natural Life. It was released in 1992 on MCA and following 3 singles and this album disappeared. Wiki said they were Sean McLusky and Robert Marche along with Paul Wellssome were previously in JoBoxers and called and as the name is nigh on impossible to google i have no idea what happenned to them! Enjoy

Track List -

1. Open Up Your Head 2. Everything & More 3. If... 4. It's Easy 5. Persuasion 6. Everything's a Groove 7. Ride with You 8. Pony Girl 9. On a Day Like This 10.Saturday's Angels

I will be featuring shortly a new set of postings "Rareones" which i will post whole albums that i have that as far as i am aware are either... no longer available/hard to get/or not having been posted on this network of sites (that i have seen anyway!) . I will still be running the mixes, but as i have had some requests and have received another big plastic box of old Cd's from my parents! I thought i would give it a go! Again if any of the artist have any issues with the material being posted let me know and i will take it down straight away and apologise profusely...

Let me know what you think......

PS - Further to my previous post if anyone has the facility to turn cassettes into MP3's let me know as i have a load of interesting stuff on tape i can send to you and you can keep if they can be converted and posted!

Wednesday, 27 August 2008

I know CD's sound better and you dont end up having to rewind stuff to random points but i kinda miss the era of the cassette, in fact i only have a single tape deck that works in the whole house, but i refuse to throw my hundreds of tapes out!

Anyway number 18 in the BB mixes If i had to choose favourites on this mix and its hard cos i love em all as if they were my own i think it would be the brilliant Cold Water Flat choone, the NWOTNW favs These Animal Men and one of the songs that bounces around my top20 tunes ever On the Edge by That Uncertain Feeling, a song which sound so brilliant on headphones in the evening its untrue. I have seen 8 of these bands live and Julia has seen one additional one that i havent seen which i am not happy about (Orbital)! On a final note does anyone have a copy of a Bivouac album i have 2 cds and one 7" but have never come across an album of any kind?? See ya soon!

Thursday, 14 August 2008

So what was in the box i hear you cry, well a completely random selection of the CD's that were packed away from my bedroom in order to make my pop a study so its a mixture of songs from the 90's with a bonus track15 from Norwich's first punk band The Toads. Notable includee's are a poignant song from Earl Brutus whose lead singer Nick Sanderson recently passed away. A mix of styles from the dancy - Clail and Sunscreem to the heavy - CNN and Headswim. The thing is with these compilations is that I rarely theme them but the common thread is I love the songs so they may be well known singles or album tracks or obscurities it doesn't really matter as long as I would play them in the car and not skip them they are eligible! Hope you enjoy

Wednesday, 30 July 2008

Its at times like this when its nice to be beside the sea where you live. Hence my inactivity or wanting to be holed up in a boxroom making compilations. Anyway here is a very delayed volume16 to the collection and due to the sun comes with no notes! Enjoy

Thursday, 10 July 2008

I shall make the notes brief for this weeks compilation as I am still suffering from the weekends festival frivolities and having to work all this week after it!! Anyway this one is a tribute to Moz and the acts that played on a brilliant days music at the Hyde park Wireless festival on Friday a festival which even had waitress service in the picnic areas! That is what I call luxury!

1)One Dove - White Love (Dot Allisons former band, they only made one album but what a corker. Dot has released some brilliant solo albums the pick of which imo being Heartwarm check it out. This was a single released in 1992)2)Ultramarine - Kingdom (Featuring vocals from Robert Wyatt, this 1993 track is a truly great chilled out single and really should have propelled Ultramarine onto great things, It didn't but enjoy this anyway!)3) Morrissey - Last of the famous international playboys (The opening song in Fridays headlining set and what a song to open with! Reached number 6 in the charts back in 89 and came from the Bona Drag album)4) The Rockingbirds - Gradually learning (Probably the first sign that I was to enjoy the whole folk/Americana thing later in life, the Rockingbirds first came onto my Radar on the Heavenly Right Said Fred Covers EP covering Deeply Dippy! I then bought some other stuff by them including this single. No idea what happened to them! Answers on a postcard to BB towers!)5) Cracker - Low (They were American and they recently released a best of that was all mad up of re-recorded versions of their singles as they didn't have the rights to the old versions. That's all I know bar this being a great song!)6) The Fall - Cruisers Creek (I have a strange fascination with the Fall although I don't play them hugely regularly I still need to buy and hear the new albums and collect the back catalogue...Weird I know)7) The Pixies - Alec Eiffel (I like the Pixies but don't have the love that some do for them. I even could put forward an argument that I prefer Frank Blacks Solo material. This is a fantastic track though a single in 91 and coming from the Trompe Le Monde album)8) Top - Buzzin (Fine Scouse hook laden three minute pop song, who would have thought it!)9) Hole - Malibu (The best track released by Hole by a country mile. I love this track and it flits around my top50/20 song lists regularly. A superb song for the car on a sunny day.)10) Shed 7 - Mark (The Sheds are at V and I am at V. We shall meet again)11) Lemonheads - Rudderless (Recently bought the remastered and expanded edition of Its a Shame about Ray. Great great album, but rubbish bonus material which sound like they were recorded on a walkman in a garage 20 years ago, which is pretty much what happened!)12) Faith No More - Midlife Crisis (Faith No more were imo very underrated in their music and influence and Angel Dust is a great alt rock album. This was the lead single from that album in 1991)13) Buffalo Tom - Birdbrain live (from the Twihlights Fade EP this was the first BT song I heard on MTV's 120 mins show, Still stand up 20 years later)14) MC Tunes vs 808 State - Tune Splits the Atom (Two great acts combining to great effect, Sounds brilliant on crackling vinyl up loud. From MC Tunes - North at its Heights album)15) A-Ha - Sun always shines on TV (Its back! Saw this on VH1 the other day and had to include it! May well by the best of AHA as a result)

Wednesday, 9 July 2008

Yes i know i have been slack and i will sort some mixes out very shortly but i have an excellent excuse having been at the Wireless festival and the Hop Farm festivals over the last week more of which another time.

Thursday, 26 June 2008

This is probably the most random least thought about selection of songs yet for a BB Mix but I kinda like it cos you don't know what's coming next. It also seems to feature an above average number of quiff haired artists hence the title of the mix! Some are quite epic tracks some are short sharp tunes its just music I like. Hope you do too!

1) Chapterhouse - Breather (Whirlpool was one of my fav albums in my teens and still holds up this track was one of the many highlights and amazingly was never a single)2) Belltower - Flight ( Americas try at shoegaze wasnt half bad this track from 1992 is a great tune. They only released one album Popdropper which was also pretty good)3) Mercury Rev - Car Wash Hair (Mercury Rev have been going nearly 20 years and their recorded output is of an astonishing quality, this is one of the early singles from the album Yerself is Steam in 1991, and is a fuzzy pop dream of a song)4) A Certain Ratio - Shack Up (Manchester but not as we know it. This 91 track was ACR's nod towards the Madchester sound and they do it pretty well, Quite different to their 80's material though)5) Natural Life - Natural Life (Mentioned in a previous mix so I revisited this track, I still like it but it does sound a little dated now. I actually saw them twice, and how many people can say that I wonder, once with If and Airstream and once supporting The Farm)6) Happy Mondays - Rave On ( I know I know, how many times has SWR appeared on these mixes! I just cant help it. Really I cant, its like a drug)7) Sebadoh - The Freed Pig (Lou Barlows post and now pre? Dinosaur Jr band saw him make some critically acclaimed but not commercially successful albums. This was the lead single from 1991's Sebadoh III album. Nice piece of slacker/art rock)8) Morrissey - Suedehead ( I am seeing Moz, if he doesn't cancel on me again next week in Hyde Park on what is a really strong line-up, so in anticipation I have been playing him a lot, hence is inclusion. This is one of his finest.)9) Longpigs - She Said ( A tune that I listened to loads at Uni having seen then play in the Students Union, Richard Hawley was lead axeman and so that indicates that they were a pretty good band)10) Sisters of Mercy - More (Goth Alert! This SOM track appeared on Boxsetgos mix last week and as a co-incidence I had it lined up for my next mix. After deliberation its stays as its a great track and one that should feature..... More, Geddit! sigh)11) Gallon Drunk - Some Fools Mess (A band that have gone on for years since their inception in the early 90's on Clawfist records. As was said about Mark Lammar there are "Nifty Fifties throwbacks". Recently bought the best of, in my opinion they are best in small doses like this as the whole album was a challenging listen!)12) Adorable - Kangaroo Court (Seem to be more popular now than they were when they were together. Compare the first album with the Verves and imo there is nothing in it quality wise and arguably Adorable snatch it with Sunshine Smile. This was a single on creation in 94 and from the second album Fake which I have just realised I don't have a copy of. Wheres that ebay link....)13) Heart Throbs - I Wonder Why (Ethereal sounds from the twin fronted band, I have a real soft spot for the Heart Throbs and think they made some great music. This was from the debut album Cleopatras Grip released in 1990 Fact- This album was produced by the mercurial Martin Hamnett of New Order/Mondays fame)14) Swervedriver - Sci Flyer (They are reforming and playing in London later this year hooray!! Its when? September 16th oh **^££^**!!*& that will be when im on holiday then...)15) They Might Be Giants - Ana- Ag (Ok not as random as usual track 15's but a nice little bubblegum pop song. Bought the anthology recently and there is some great little tracks on there. This is 20 years old would you believe from 1988's Lincoln LP)

Monday, 23 June 2008

3 x 5 is 15 So I have 3 sets of 5 songs on this weeks mix. Kicking off with 5x Manchester acts moving to 5x Shoegazer linked bands and finishing with 5x unashamedly great alternative pop songs!

1) The Charlatans - Jesus Hairdo (Won tickets to see the Charlatans at 02 Indigo last week for an ITV2 gig in a very nice shiny new venue. They rocked as per normal and played most of the new album and 4 or 5 oldies. This led me to having a Charlatans weekend at home and this song was my chosen song to include)2) New Fads - Life is an Accident (At which point they had ditched the Daffodils part and were just New Fads. This is possibly my fav song of theirs from around 1994)3) Inspiral Carpets feat M E Smith - I Want You (Brilliant 3 mins of music from 2 Manchester legends, the TOTP appearance was really funny)4) Intastella - People ( Intastella never really seemed to tour down south so I never got a chance to see them live. This was one of their first ever singles. Does anyone who if Stella went on to be in any other bands??)5) The Fall - LA (The Smith fella makes his second appearance, I have developed a bit of a Fall crush in the past 3 or 4 years and have started to collect up their back catalogue this track was taken from 1985's This Nations Saving Grace, many peoples fav LP. Its not mine the Infotainment Scam is!)6) House of Love - Destroy the Heart (Did anyone see or buy last years House of Love LP??? I was keen to hear it but never saw it around I must search ebay. Anyways this was them at their best and appeared in the festive fifty in 1991)7) Ride - Sennen ( I cant say much more about one of my fav bands really burt can add that there is a rather excellent Ride influenced band named Sennen from the fair county of Norfolk that have released two excellent albums check them out if you like Newgaze!!)8) Sweet Jesus - Phonefreak Honey ( Saw Sweet Jesus supporting someone or other in 91 and thought they were a bit crap. Picked up the single for 99p a while after and actually thought it was quite good! The follow up real babe wasn't to shoddy either)9) Catherine Wheel - Black Metallic (Isn't it time for a Catherine Wheel anthology? Yeah they went a little Bush at the end but still released some great music this 1992 single being one of the best examples of that. I have every 12" from the first 2 albums and all tracks are brilliant)10) Teenage Fanclub - Star Sign (The Fannies are one of those bands like Super Furry Animals that have consistently produced great singles and albums but yet have remained at the same mid size venue lower rung of the chart position? How be that with songs like this?)11) Chumbawamba - Timebomb (I stand by the Anarchy album as being unashamedly alternative Pop brilliance saw them at Leeds T&C in 96 for what was a hometown gig following the whole Tubthumping thing and it was a wild celebration and singalong. Great night)12) 25th of May - Its Alright (Scouse rap rock outfit if I remember rightly. Only have this and What's Goin on but both are good little singles. If any has posted their album let me know!)13) Pele - Fat Black Heart ( Scouse theme continued here with Pele and a track which was the lead on the hard to get second album. I had the 10" version of this but never got the second LP)14) Billy Bragg - Sexuality (Billy Bragg is someone I admire greatly and is widely underappreciatted in music. This is probably his most pop song (Boy done good maybe close??) from the great 91 album Don't Try this at Home)15) Belly - Feed the Tree (This track was a popular cover by college bands while I was doing my A-Levels and holds an almost seminal place in my heart because of the amount of time I have heard rubbish covers of it!)

For all of you random track 15 lovers it will be back soon with some corkers!!

Thursday, 12 June 2008

I was at a loss as to what to call this mix but having seen a 3" figure of Michael Sheards Star Wars character in the shop yesterday i decided to make it a tribute to the late actor and his brilliant Grange Hill role. YOU BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1) Edwyn Collins - Keep on Burning (I thought I would kick off with a track from the brilliant Mr Collins. I watched a documentary on him the other week about his recover from his brain tumour and getting back to performing and it was awe inspiring if you missed it see if its repeated or download it as its a brilliant hours viewing.)2) Ride - Chelsea Girl (The first Ride track I ever heard which was on a compilation given to me by a well informed class mate aged 13. I re-iterate my desire for Ride to re-unite as they are one of the most underrated bands of the last 25 years. This track was the lead track from their first EP released in Jan 1990)3) Senseless Things - Everybody's Gone (This song just reminds me of cold wet nights standing around tiny venues pretending I was old enough to drink. Arguably my fav Senseless Things track it was the lead single from the 1991 major label debut 'First of Too Many' which is definitely the best album they released)4) Ash - Jack Names the Planets ( Ash are one of the best Singles bands around everyone is a corker. I first saw them around the time this was released as a young rough and ready 3 piece supporting Elastica way back when and although I liked them I had no inclination they would go on to be such a powerhouse band. Have seen them four or five times over the years and its about time I saw them again me thinks)5) Me Me Me - Hanging Around (A great little one off single from Alex James and Stephen Duffy, recently read Alex's autobiography its a good read that when you have finished you really feel you should dislike him but cant help but feel you would like to be his mate!)6) Wedding Present - Brassneck (An indie classic and featured on that same compilation tape as Ride's Chelsea Girl. Released in 89 and still played in their live set today)7) Airhead - Take My Train (B-side to Counting sheep, I had forgotten how strong all three track were on that single until I downloaded the MP3 rips the other day. A waste being just a b-side, does anyone know if any of Airhead made music after they split? )8) Kinky Machine - Supernatural Giver ( I am sure I know lots of interesting facts about Kinky machine and have virtually everything they released but I just cant thing of anything! I am sure they will re-appear on a BB comp soon so in the meantime enjoy this debut single)9) Pavement - Range Life (I only ever really had a passing interest in American grunge/slacker bands in my formative years and this single was the second time I came across Pavement and have slowly added a lot of their back catalogue to my collection including a couple of brilliantly put together special editions of the early albums. This is a 1994 single)10) IF? - Saturdays Angel (I saw If on a tour with some other bands that the press were trying to clump together, maybe Natural Life and Slipstream??? If? were the strongest by far and this track was one of the singles from the excellent English Boys on the Love Ranch LP which I may post on here at some point due to its hard to come by nature!!)11) Elastica - Waking Up (Thought I would include a track having thought of them via the Ash memory. Good band bad second album)12) Jesus Jones - Zero's and Ones ( I am very exited having just bought tickets to see Jesus Jones support the Wonderstuff in the autumn, and I will no doubt witter on about it in weeks and months to come. A single from the bands third album but still keeping up the high standards!)13) The Breeders - Cannonball acoustic (I have no idea where I downloaded this from or where it was recorded all I know is it was 1993 its a great song and a great version. New album Mountain Battles is a fine piece of work if you haven't checked it out already.)14) Sonic Youth - Youth against Fascism (Arghh Sonic Youth the band whose back catalogue could not be more varied, imo they have about a four CD boxset of fantastic material and a 10 cd boxset of barely listenable sonic experimental nonsense. This is the former from the Dirty LP)15) Blow Monkeys - Doesn't Have to be that Way ( They have reformed Hurray! Do you know any other tracks bar this one though...Um er maybe not. Great 80's pop single from Dr Roberts band)

Tuesday, 10 June 2008

I saw Gary Louris at York Fibbers on my journey Oooop North and had to write and say how excellent he was. Now i am no expert on The Jayhawks or Louris solo material, but i was hugely impressed with the talent and quality of his songwriting. He played for 90 mins completely solo, to a crowd of around 200, and captivated the audience and came accross as a very nice humble person. He played a mixture of solo tracks and Jayhawks classics he also took requests from a deleighted crowd. Its unusual for me to attend a gig that is purely acoustic, but for the £9 entrance fee i am deleighted i did. Having since purchased the Vagabonds solo album i can report its an excellent album in the vein of Neil Young or Ryan Adams. If you get a chance check him of the album out. In the meantime here is a little taster for you to be going along with.....

Wednesday, 28 May 2008

This is the last mix for a week or so as i am off on a nice UK hollibop Ooop North. With that in mind its an upbeat collection of songs for you and me to singalong to in the car. Enjoy!

1) Fatima Mansions - 1000% ( A great track from Cathal Coughlans post Microdisney band. This was the lead single off the great Valhalla Avenue album which scraped the charts back in 1992)2) S*M*A*S*H - Real Surreal (The second track from SMASH to appear on a Boxerbear Comp and this was the first track I heard of theirs and was from the first Mini Album which was self titled. Again great track slightly let down by under par production)3) New Model Army - Space (New Model Army were one of those bands that fell in a number of genres, they have been a consistently brilliant live band for more than 20 years now and this track is from my favourite album of theirs, Impurity. If anyone has the Live Melody Men album on their site please let me know as I would love a copy but don't want to pay the £20 odd quid its going for on Ebay)4) Mega City Four - Anne Bancroft (From the brilliant Sebastapol Road album which highlights what a brilliant songwriter Wiz was. I wished I could have attended the Wiz Tribute gig a couple of years back as it would have been a special night)5) Bridewell Taxi's - Honesty (There must have been something in the water between 1987 and 1992 in Leeds as it brought a gaggle of brilliant bands. The Taxi's were never anywhere near as famous as they should have been and you wonder if they were based in Manchester and signed to factory or Mute just what they could have achieved. From the EP of the same name)6) Stare - Mood (Sorry BSG having listened to the recent comp I had no choice but to include this track and to keep up the Norfolk element in these compilations. This was the major label debut single and indeed their last one!! Backed by the equally brilliant No Way as a B-Side. Again a band blighted by bad luck)7) Jah Wobble and the Invaders of the Heart - Becoming More like God (Wobble has always fascinated my both by his hugely varied back catalogue and my love for the Bass Guitar. This has an enormous Baseline and was his biggest post PIL hit. Complemented by Sinead O'Connor's haunting vocals this reached the Top 30 in 1993)8) The Farm - Rising Sun (One of the first bands I ever saw live and Sparticus was one of my first CD's this was a later track by the Brookside writers and appeared on the Love See No Colour album in 1992)9) Midway Still - Jamie and Gigi (London Fraggle Rockers second album featured a number of great tracks this being one of them. Was also released as part of the Slugabed EP in 1993. Saw them at a Travellers festival in the woods somewhere in East Anglia with Back to the Planet and they were ace)10) The Wonderstuff - Its Yer Money (What can I say Wonderstuff = legends)11) Gin Blossoms - Follow You Down (Coming away from the usual era and genre and a track that may split peoples opinions. My opinion is that this is a brilliantly crafted pop song that I love. Released in 1998)12) Mock Turtles - And then She Smiles ( Follow Up to Can You Dig it? and unsurprisingly less successful, but still reaching the Top40 with ease. A great pop song from a great band from the 1993 album Two Sides)13) Warm Jets - Hurricane (Briefly flitting into the Uni era, The Warm Jets were best known for having Zoe ball's one time Boyf in the band. They were worth much more than that as the Future Signs album shows. This was the biggest hit reaching the Top20 in 1997)14) Blur - Pop Scene (Realised I hadn't featured any Blur yet so here is the inclusion of their great "Lost" Single. Released to coincide with the Rollercoaster Tour with MBV, Dinosaur Jr )15) Tone Loc - Funky Cold Medina (I have a penchant for good Hip Hop and I love this track and the Frank and Walters version recorded a few years later. Fantastic Story Telling for the Track15 curveball of the week!)

Tuesday, 20 May 2008

I know its early but i am on Holiday in a week or so's time so make the most of it. This the 10th in the series of Boxerbear mixes is dedicated to that wonderful institution if sticker albums. I never did get Steve Nicol for Liverpool to complete my 1986 book

1) Carnival Art - Ray's Jesus ( From the brilliant Holy Smokes EP. Brian Bell from the went onto become a founding member of the brilliant Weezer and on this track you can tell Brian was due to go onto great things. I only have this ep and one 7" but I believe the band released 2 albums on Beggars Banquet which are now worth a fortune due to his success with Weezer. Saw them on a co headline tour with Hooky's Revenge many moons ago. Enjoy)2) Pele - Megolamania (Mmmmmmmmmmegolamania. Pele were from Liverpool wrote great tunes releasing a load of singles around 91/92. This is an unashamedly brilliant pop song taken from the excellent Fireworks album. What is it about bands from Liverpool being able to write brilliant pop tunes??)3) Bedazzled - Summer Song (One of three singles released by the Band on Columbia records in 1992 a lovely summer pop song. I tried to google the band but I found nothing, so I will have to leave you with the interesting fact that the B-Side to this single was a rather ropy version of Kylies Step Back in Time!)4) Mover - We Got it Going on (This song is another that is on the fringes of my fav 20 songs ever. A fantastic mix of indie/soul and pop featuring co- Vocals from Ruby Turner. Saw them supporting the Bluetones once and have the album which is quite a decent record. This however is the best track by far. Have duetted with Julia in the Car and kitchen many times to this one!)5) Half Time Oranges - Panini (Keeping the Norfolk link going these football loving boys wrote a couple of albums worth of jangy tunes about various footballing themes and most are excellent. Saw them a couple of times around Norwich in the 90's and always good for a night out. This ode to football stickers is from the Rotterdamnation album)6) Voodoo Queens - Kenuwee Head (The Riot Girl's tribute the Mr Dude himself Keanu Reeves. Released on Too Pure in 1993 the Voodoo Queens were probably the best of the very small Riot Girl scene and actually had some tunes to boot. I have a limited hand painted 7" of this single at home. Released an album called Chocolate Revenge in 94 before splitting up. Did 3 Peel sessions in 18 months to boot.7) Afghan Whigs - Something Hot (This is included as I re-visited my Afghan Whigs albums having seen Greg Dulli on Later with Jools last week. This is a great soaring tune from the 1965 album released in 1998 and was the lead single. This track also features on one of the Later Live Loud DVD's that I have.)8) Diesel Park West - Fall to Love ( Released in 1991 on the Food label this track was the second single from the album decency. DPW have quite an impressive back catalogue and have continued on and off to release music for 20 years. Thoughtful crafted pop)9) Flowered Up - Egg Rush ( Double A -side to the re-issued version of Its on which reached No38 in 1992. A more downbeat track than Flowered Up normally produce but no less brilliant.)10) Soho - New Love Generation (A band fronted by two sisters Pauline and Jacqie Cuff whose most famous track was the Smiths sampling Hippychick. This follow-up single should have been a bigger hit than its predecessor. Toured America with Jesus Jones and EMF apparently! Taken from the album Goddess)11) PWEI - XY and Zee , Electric Sunrise 12" Mix ( One of hundreds of PWEI remixes in the ether. This was from the coloured 12" version of the single and is pretty darn dancetastic. Fact - I met the guys from PWEI at a signing session before a gig aged about 16 and cheekily asked if we could have backstage passes! They obviously didn't want us there but didn't want to seem like bad guys so passed us on to the tour manager in the pub round the corner to ask him. He was an arse and said no! Got signed records and t-shirts though!!)12) Molly Half Head - Just (Another fine Manchester band from the 90's. This was one of the 93 albums from the album Sulk. A perennial support band and some members went on to form the band Wireless who also released some rather good singles.)13) Senser - The Key (Senser were(are?) a great live band fusing punk guitars, dance beats and rap together. This single was an NME single of the week in 1993 and taken from the excellent Stacked Up album. Have appeared at virtually every festival you can think of and by the looks of it are back in fields near you this summer!)14) Buffalo Tom - Taillights Fade (One of the bands Julia and I first realise we both loved after meeting at Uni. This is a great song as is most of the back catalogue to be fair if you want a starting point buy Red Letter Day or A-Sides Compilation.)15) Nik Kershaw - Wouldn't it be Good (Latterly covered by Soulwax this pop gem is included as our track 15 guilty pleasure in its full 1980's 12" extended glory!)

Monday, 19 May 2008

Firstly my frustration that however good my mixes are Garrett from Boxsetgo keeps creating even more brilliant ones!!! Damn you BSG!!! Lol

Secondly Norwich released Darren Huckerby last week and i am going to publicly voice my disapproval about that decision. Hucks has pretty much single handedly got Norwich promotion and then kept a very poor team in the Championship. He is so loyal that he said he will never play against City for any other team and that will be written into his contract wherever he goes next.. Cheers Hucks

Friday, 16 May 2008

Its Friday again thank the lordie and this weekend i will be booking a holiday for the autumn hurrah. Another mix to confuse and astound you and another track15 to moan about!

1) The Trash Can Sinatra's - Hayfever (An apt song top lead us into volume 9 on a warm day. The Trash Can Sinatras were another one of those enigma bands seemingly appearing and reappearing at will over the last 15 years, This is one of my fav songs of theirs and was a 92 single)2) Miltown Brothers - Which way should I jump (Ok so everyone probably knows it but there is no getting around its summer pop brilliance hence why it has been deserving of a place here. The first MB album Slinky was brilliant the second Valve no so much. The whole of this EP is excellent actually Fact - I Bought Slinky on the same day I bought the La's album which was in a French Hypermarket on a family holiday)3) World Party - Ship of Fools (Karl Wallingers band who recently released a best of (Best in Show) produced brilliant pop songs and have recently got back into the studio and are currently touring America. This was a single from 1987 which fact fans reached the Top 5 in Australia no less!)4) Mudhoney - Suck You Dry ( Hey this compilation was getting far to nice with sun drenched pop so lets add 2 mins of scuzzy grunge pop into the mixer. Mudhoney who were the Grandaddy of Grunge also actually have some fine tunes, this being one of those and from my fav album Piece of Cake. Fact - In my brief teenage years in a band we covered Mudhoney covering Motorheads Over the Top. Its a fine tune)5) New Fads - Big (Probably the most famous of the New FADS singles this was released in 1990 and was a big alternative hit. A Band that never quite achieved mainstream chart success but were consistently innovative and fresh in their output. Taken from the Pigeonhole album)6) Pete Wylie and Wah - Don't Lose your Dreams (This was the follow-up to the Farm/Wylie Sinful hit in 1991. I always had Wylie down with Ian McCnabb as hugely underrated songwriters and this song does nothing to disprove this theory. I must buy the best of)7) The Real People - Window Pane (Like the Miltown Brothers a much loved band by the 30 something fraternity. The four track EP this is from is a wonderful 12 mins of music. Another band who would make an astonishing Best Of if ever released)8) Mega City Four - Wallflower (From the Magic Bullets album which was MC4 polished and clean in sound. There are disagreements as to if this was a good thing but personally I like guitars to sound loud not like tin cans so imo this is a great album. Also featured the brilliant Iron Sky and Perfect Circle. Buy it )9) Ben Folds Five - Army (I came onto Ben Folds around the time of the second album and although not a huge fan of his solo work all of the BF5 albums are works of genius. His piano style is described as if he were playing guitar sideways. This song is from the 1999 ....Reinhold Messer album)10) Carter USM - Rubbish (Carter at their shoutiest best, one of my fav tracks of theirs and was the third single. Never appeared on an album amazingly. If you dont have any Carter material may I suggest the 30 Something album or the BBC Sessions)11) Slowdive - Alison (And breathe, a beautiful haunting song that makes you wonder exactly how the wall of sound is actually made! Taken from the second album Souvlaki this was the lead track of the Outside your room EP released in 1993)12) Jacobs Mouse - Good (East Anglian connection returns with this band hailing from Bury St Edmonds. Saw them a number of times in the 1990's and were the first band I saw with a Lead Singer/Drummer. Had a good local following a headlined the Cambridge Strawberry Fayre a couple of years to very big crowds. This was an early single from the band. For more great songs check out the No Fish Shop parking album)13) 808 State - cubik (lets add a bit of dance into the mix. This track from the manc dance uberlords was released lots of time the most successfully as a double A-side with Olympic in 1990)14) Revolver - Since yesterday (taken from the Venice EP in 1991 Revolver released 3 great EP's and a great album called Baby's Angry followed by a couple more good EP's and an average second album called Cradle Snatch.)15) Craig McLauchlin and Check1/2 - Hey Mona ( I couldn't resist after seeing this on VH1 or some similar channel the other night. Sounds very much like Korean Bodega by Fun Lovin Criminals and people liked that!!!)

Wednesday, 14 May 2008

Well here it is volume 8 in the Like it Love it hate it Boxerbears compilation series. I hope those who are downloading them are enjoying them the last one has currentely had 27 downloads which is nice to think that people are bothering! Anyway to the music.........

1) Curve - Fait Acompli (Biggest "hit" for the band fronted by the gorgeous Toni Haliday. Released in 1992 and best listened to in a darkened room at a loud volume. From the Doppelgagger album)2) Neds Atomic Dustbin - Less Than Useful (They appear for the second time. This is an album track from God Fodder, Neds had two bass players and with songs like this you wonder why everyone doesn't. I might go and buy the DVD from play thinking about it now.)3) Eat - Bellytown (Found out this week that the band Doolittle have released an album and supported CUD in London last week. Cant work out whether its just Ange the singer in the band or anyone else but it maybe on my purchase list! Anyway B-side to the Golden Egg single and what a B-Side indeed)4) My Bloody Valentine - Soft as Snow (from the album isn't anything, the sounds MBV make on this song are amazing and its a bizarre lead off track to an album but makes you want to hear more. Cant wait to see what the new material is like)5) The Shamen - LSI (I like the Shamen although many indie kids didnt. Saw them 3 time most noticeable at Sound City 92 supported by a fledgling Prodigy. This was from the Boss Drum album released in 93(?) and spawned "that" hit single.)6) Bang Bang Machine - Geek Love (Topped Peel's festive fifty in 1992 and is their second best song after Breathless. I have the album on lovely vinyl and its really quite good and will soon be converting it into this new modern format so expect so other tracks! Fact - They are the only band from Worcestershire I can think of!)7) Emperor's of Ice Cream - Purile ( Saw EOIC supporting the Sultans back in the day and was heartily impressed by their tunefulness! Bought the William EP, that this is from in 93 and it contains some good tunes. Like the Sultans from Cork in Ireland the only other single I have by them is Skin Tight.)8) Senseless Things - Primary Instinct ( The great music that has come out of the nucleus of this band is amazing. Delakota/3 Colours Red/Morgan/Streets/Jolt/Wildhearts the list goes on. This was a Top40 single from the Empire of the Senseless Album which had amazingly lame artwork for the usually brilliant covers they had.)9) Throwing Muses - Not too Soon (From their best album The Real Ramona, this track from 1991 is a brilliant piece of pop from Tanya Donelly and Kristen Hersh. If you dont have the album buy it....Now...Im waiting...Go on....)10) Audioweb - Policeman Skank (A band that I seemed to see god know how many times over a 2/3 year period at festivals and as support band and headliner. fronted by the amazing Martin Merchant this was a top 30 single for the Manchester band in 98. I believe I have everything they have ever released in one format or another. Still have a dedicated fan base despite splitting nearly 10 years ago. All members still musicians involved with Manchester music)11) Billy Bragg - Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards (I have a huge soft spot for Mr Bragg and think some of his songs are immense and Workers Playtime is one of my fav albums, this track is from that. Can produce brilliant powerful lyrics about love and the world. This was released in 88)12) Happy Mondays - Gods Cop Live (A track from their legendary Glasto headlining show in 1990 captures what they are all about live in their prime. Website says they are working on a new album which is good news as music needs SWR)13) Double Trouble and the Rebel MC - Street Tuff (Love this single neither act did anything as good without the other which is a shame. Will have you singing along like a loon. What hip hop should be all about. released in 1990)14) The Mission - Tower of Strength (The Mission and the Cure were as close to Goth as I liked but both acts were excellent at pulling off dark sweeping epic tracks. Have been buying some of the old albums on Cd and there is some great stuff to be had. No comprehensive best of has ever been released which is a shame so its a DIY Mission best of on the way!)15) Christopher Cross - Theme from Arthur ( Love the film love the song pure indulgent sentimentality, its hard not to like this song)

Friday, 9 May 2008

Wow the sun is still shining and its Friday and wine and mexican food tonight and to top it off a mix for the weekend. Dont ya just love it!

1) Neds Atomic Dustbin - Kill Your TV 'Remix' (Neds were a fantastic band, and God Fodder is still a magnificent album from start to finish. This is the remixed version from the 0.522 compilation, that start of this song is fantastic building up into a crescendo, you cant help but pretend to hold a mike stand and shake your head. Fact - I had 2 glow in the dark Neds T-shirts!)2) Wildhearts - Caffeine Bomb (I had to google to work out if they were still together or not as they seem to break up and reform more than any other band. At the moment they are together. Wildhearts are one of the great singles bands of the last 20 years, I cant think of a duff single they have released, even the newer material still has a killer hook. This was a lovely Sick green 7" vinyl single released in 1994, and goes at 100 miles an hour!)3) Catherine Wheel - Thats when I reach for my Revolver ( I must have heard at least half a dozen versions of this song but this is my fav. A cover of the Mission of Burma track and it featured on the 20th Century Man EP released in 1992 which bridges the gap between first and second albums. Fact - I still have a signed Catherine Wheel Ferment T-shirt with now very faint signatures on the reverse, 15 years and counting not bad for a t-shirt!)4) Inspiral Carpets - Sleep Well Tonight (One of the best non single tracks by IC. This featured on the Beast Inside album and has featured live in the recent reunion tours. Great mid tempo sing from the madchester legends)5) Happy Mondays - Freaky Dancin 'Peel Session' - (A track that is now an unbelievable 22 years old! I have to say I didn't buy this originally as I was only 9 on its release. But is still a great tune and captures the ramshackle essence of the bands early live sound. Fact I was only a fingertip away from being the proud owner of one of Bez's maracas a couple of years ago, and is the closest I ever got to wanting to rugby tackle a girl!)6) Swervedriver - Sandblasted (The song that tuned me into the band on the Evening Session. I bought Raise straight afterwards and wasnt disappointed. Took me years to get hold of it on CD and when I finally paid about 20 quid for it they went and re-released the back catalogue and best of shortly after! Apparently have reformed and are touring in America but no Uk live dates yet)7)The Apples - Eye Wonder (I saw the Apples supporting the Mock Turtles in 1991 and was impressed, I have 2 or 3 of the singles all of which are great little pop tunes. They released an album on Sony before being dropped which I have never managed to get hold of, so if anyone knows of its whereabouts!)8) My Jealous God - Pray (Um er I only ever had this single and the vid on an indie top 20 compilation. Despite the fact I know every word to this great single, I Know nothing of interest about them so if you like it go find out about them and let me know!)9) AC Acoustics - Stunt Girl (My fav AC Acoustics track and a single from 1996. They are a Scottish band who have had numerous labels and are still releasing great music. I recently picked up the (O) album on E-bay. Saw AC Acoustics on a tour with Senseless Things and also as a headline at NAC, great band who I cant really pick a genre for)10) Jesus Jones - Bring it on Down ( The 3rd single from the band and came from the 1989 Liquidizer album which I still have a very battered cassette of ! To me that album was the best they released and was the soundtrack of many a day and night. Reminds me of a mate of mine at school named Johnny Clover!)11) Northside - Take 5 (If only Dermo could sing live and that NME hated them they could have been massive. I still listen to Chicken Rhythms regularly and I believe they still play the odd live show Ooop North. Fact - It will blow your mind blow it every time, cos......)12) Superchunk - Throwing Things (Another band I have to thank Paul King for, having had this vid on one of my hand picked recorded off the tele 3 hour video mixes. American 'slacker' band very much contemporaries of Pavement released in 1992 and is a great off kilter track)13) Wedding Present - Dalliance (I love the Wedding Present but have only ever seen them live once (Shame on me) I recently bought the 5 CD Peel Sessions box set and love it. This was taken from 1991's Seamonsters album which was a harder edged album that they had previously recorded. Due a new album next month, my lucky arsed brother has tickets to the tour later this month. Fact - I am jealous!)14) Sonic Youth - Superstar (From a Carpenters tribute album from 93. Sonic Youth confuse me I have some of their albums and I love them others I cant listen to due to the lack of a tune or melody! Fact - Kool Thing on guitar hero is brilliant to play though!)15) Fraggle Rock - The Theme Tune (Yeah yeah yeah cmon get them doozers)

Tuesday, 6 May 2008

Its Sunny and everythings Ok! here is another hand picked mix of some of my fav songs from the alternative 90's vaults, with the now legendary track15 gem!

1) Boo Radleys - Lazy Day (Another track I first heard on a Select compilation tape this time a Creation one. Genius 95 seconds of music from the first album proper by the Boo Radleys. Saw them shortly after (1992?) at Norwich Waterfront in a double bill with the Pale Saints. Fact - Sice actually had hair at that time!)2) Northern Uproar - Rough Boy (For a modern reference to this band see The Courteeners! Very young manc lads who wrote fine ballsy rock tunes. This was from the debut album and was also the B-Side to the 1996 debut single Rollercoaster. Released two albums (the first better) and split up around 1999. Saw them play once with Audioweb but for the life of me I cant remember who supported who!)3) Frank and Walters - Fashion Crisis Hits New York (Irish band who formed in the early 90's and who continue to release splendid records and tour to this day. This is on of the earliest tracks they did and reminds me of a teenage "romantic" interlude at the UEA whilst watching them play. I keep meaning to catch them again live but the dates never work out. Maybe one day)4) Mega City Four - Stop (Another "Fraggle" Rock band who constantly toured. Saw them at the Astoria and at the Waterfront and were excellent both times. Singer Wiz sadly passed away last year, but as they say the music lives on. Fact -Actually bought the Sebastapol Road cd that this was on a trip to the very un indie Harrods! Still have the CD and the price sticker on it (A very reasonable £7.99!))5) Black Grape - England's Irie (Shaun's back again on Boxerbear this time with 'ver' Grape. I had kinda forgotten about this track until recently as it wasn't on either album, and was written off as a novelty football track. Its far from it and is the usual brilliance from SWR)6) Gary Clail's On-U-Soundsystem - Human Nature (Only Top forty hit for Bristol based Clail's dub outfit and featured a Cabaret/drag singer on vocals. Clail actually released some excellent and eclectic material in the 90's and is worth checking out. This is from the 1991 Emotional Hooligan album.)7) Belly - Slow Dog (A top single from 1993's Star album. I had a big crush on Tanya Donelly but the closest I ever got was about 200ft at XFM's Great Expectations gig at Finsbury Park! Sigh)8) The Family Cat - River of Diamonds (Their best song (I think) but not the best version which I have yet to transfer from 7" to MP3. A band whose t-shirt adorned many an Indie kids body. This was from the 92 Furthest from the Sun album. If anyone has the Family Cat peel sessions I would love a copy!)9) The Mock Turtles - Lay Me Down (How many albums did they release, well im not sure most seemed to be collections of various tracks with the exception of Two Sides. Saw them live when they were on the crest of the 'Can You dig it' wave and were very good and at the time singer Martin Coogan was the most famous Coogan brother! This was a single release in 1990 on Imaginary records)10) Pale Saints - Sight of You (Leeds based band who according to legend had a rivalry with Ride for many a year resulting in Ride covering "The only good Pale Saints song" this one! This wasnt true but a rivalry about who was best with Ride was foolish one and one that couldn't be won. This is probably their best known track. And came from the debut Comforts of Madness album.)11) Frazier Chorus - Nothing (7" edit) - Second part of the famous brothers theme as Tim Freeman the lead singer is the brother of Brit Actor Martin! This was the highest placing of the Brighton bands singles and reached No51 in 1990 and come from a really nice little album called Ray on the Virgin label)12) Lush - Nothing Natural (From the debut album proper Spooky this was probably the first song that hooked me onto Lush. Everything in place Swirling dreamy guitar melodies haunting voice with a dark undercurrent. The Black Spring EP reached No 43 in March 91. Fact - The band recorded a version of Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep for a compilation album called Alvin Lives in Leeds and still managed a successful career!!)13) Kenickie - Punka (Best known for being Lauren Laverne's pre presenting band, Kenickie were a 3 girl one boy pop Punk band from the North East. This lovely coloured vinyl single was released in 96. Fact - I stood behind David Gedge watching Kenickie at Leeds Breeze festival in 1998, getting frustrated that I seemed to be the only person to A)Notice B)Understand the magnificence of this happening!)14) A Tribe Called Quest - Bonita Applebum (I have to say I knew nothing about them bar owning the two singles they released in the early 90's (This and Can you kick it), upon Wiki search I found that... formed in 1988. The group is composed of rapper/producer Q-Tip (Kamal Fareed), rapper Phife Dawg (Malik Taylor), and DJ/producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad, who formed in 1988 and recently reformed. Bonita Applebum is a funky hip hop tune from 1990)15) Divine Comedy - My Lovely Horse (Keeping with my track 15 a little something to make you smile format. This gem will make you smile!)

Friday night we went to see James Corden and Matt Horne do a preview show for thier up coming BBC sketch show and it was fantastically funny and the show will be a massive hit elevating them to Little Britain Status. Trust me they are that funny!

Sunday night was the NME New Noise Tour at Norwich Waterfront the reveiw of the bands in a nutshell...

White Lies - Missed them as they were on really early and we were still in the pub garden over the River!Team Waterpolo - I had only heard the Letting Go single that i really liked and they only played half a dozen songs but looked like they may be a very good little band. Pleasantly surprised.Freindly Fires - Excellent, innovative sound, mixing dance rhythms with guitar and bass and a really strong singer. Not a duff song in the set. Would pay the £9 ticket to see them alone again. The debut alum could be a corker.Crystal Castles - Mmm Came on in darkness and played the whole set with a strobe light going. The New rave kids were out in force with the glow sticks and face paint. Very dancy techno although i would question how much was "Live" with a drummer/singer/guitarist only on stage no noise seemed to be linked to thier movements and the music!!! Pretyy good sound but more like being at a club than seeing a band. After Freindly Fires was a bit of an anti-climax although they did get a very good reaction from the crowd.

Overall - Worth it for FF alone, and a good insight into some promising new bands for the less than a tenner entrance fee.

Thursday, 1 May 2008

Its May its the Bank Holiday Weekend, Its gonna rain. To cheer you up here is another astounding mix compiled by hand using only the finest and freshest ingredients. Enjoy!

I am off this weekend to see Matt Horne and James Corden do a bit of standup and also to catch some new (gasp!!!) bands on Sunday on the NME New bands tour. I will let you know if the future is bright or not next week!

Taa Raa

Boxerbears Vol51) Scorpio Rising - Watermelon (First came across Scorpio Rising on MTV's 120 mins which was bizarrely hosted by 80's popster Paul King for a while. I bought this 12" and the Saturnalia 7" and that was all I ever had by the band until I tracked down a mini album on a site rather like this! Lyrics are not exactly Wordsworth but "Tune")2) Sultans of Ping FC - Indeed You Are (I actually bought the single for Wheres Me Jumper when it came out and loved it. That was soon to be "Borrowed by a friend who for the purposes of this blog I shall call "Winnie" and it never returned! We saw them a number of times live and to this day "Winnie" would quite happily make love to Niall or morty from the band in exchange for an EP of new songs. I may indeed contact him to put together a special Sultans related mix. This is from the debut Casual Sex in the Cineplex)3) House of Love - I don't know why I love you ( The last single I believe Terry Bikers played on before quitting the band to form Levitation. Great song which helped put them on the map in America by going to No2 in the College Rock charts. Hugely underachieving band whose back catalogue should have provided them with more success. Released in late 1989)4) The Wendys - Pulling my fingers off ( Found out about the Wendys on a free factory records cassette on Select Magazine, a magazine which I think was the king of music magazines and should be brought back format and all. This single was fac297 was released in 1991 and produced by Ian Broudie, which should say a lot about its pop sensibilities. One album only released yet again due to poor sales and factory going bust.)5) Eat - Shame (Brilliant single off the brilliant Epicure album. Eat should have been massive and from having read a lot about them it appeared that vocalist Ange Doolittle was shall we say a bit 'crazy' maybe that's why the potential was never fulfilled. If you haven't got the album get it!)6) Electrafixon - Never (The band that re-united McColloch and Sargent from the Bunnymen a dark sharp fuzzy album which had great pop moments like this track. I remember going to a engagement party and finding this amongst the 80's record collection they had in the house and put it on instead of Fairground Attraction and people loved it. From the Burned album and released in 1995)7) Kingmaker - Eat Yourself Whole (Second appearance from this band and this was one of those singles whose title was the same as the album but yet didn't appear on it! Weirdo's! This EP bridged the gap between said album and the pop crossover Sleepwalking. Fact - Loz Hardy the lead singer lived with Justine Elastica for many years following Kingmaker's break-up)8) 808 State - In Yer Face (Techno techno techno techno, make some noise. Great tune from the Dance legends. Had this on 7" and sadly it broke in half about 10 years ago after being played and slung about so much, I still have it though!!!. Makes u want to be a DJ when you hear it up loud. From the dancemongus Ex:Cel album)9) Luna -Chinatown (I actually only got to find out about Galaxie 500 by buying some Luna records and making the Dean Wareham link. This was a single from the early 90's and is a great example of what the bands sound is like.)10) Morphine - Early to Bed (From their most popular album Like Swimming. Morphine used a Sax played like a guitar to great effect and it creates a strange warm sound that is almost bluesy in feel. To appreciate the band its best to listen to a whole album, but heres a nice taster)11) Disposable Heroes of Hypocrisy - Famous and Dandy (Michael Frantis band before he formed the superb Jazz/Hip Hip Outfit Spearhead. DHH were almost Public Enemy like in their style, use of samples and political lyrics, which is no band thing. Greatest Luxury is a great album and this is one of the standouts which was also a single. Fact - U2 used the 'Television the drug of the Nation' track as entrance music on the Zooropa world tour.)12) Dinosaur Jr - Start Choppin ( Their highest UK chart entry (No17) in 1993 came with this track at the tail end of the Grunge thing. I never really really loved any of the albums as an entity but if you put together a best of Dinosaur Jr album it would be a 10/10 job as they knew how to write a great rock song. Now reformed I would like to see them again, even if they all are knocking 50!)13) The Telescopes - Celeste (Another shoegaze band as is my penchant. The Telescopes released some great singles on creation and continue to make music sporadically to this very day. I picked up one of the more recent albums on ebay and to say it was experimental was an understatement!!! Released in 1991 and never featured on an album proper)14) EMF - Lies (Probably the least played of the singles of Schubert Dip hence its inclusion. EMF were massive for a couple of years and the trainer boots/shorts combo nearly enticed me away from my Flares and long sleeve t-shirts. Only for me to stick to pretending I was from Manchester. Great live band who sold a bizillion records in America with Jesus Jones.15)Angry Anderson - Suddenly (Oh you shut up... if you like the above they you will know this and secretly love it. It is of course the theme tune from Scott and Charlenes wedding in Neighbours and still evokes one of those...No Charlene dont do it its me you love moments. Sniff if only Neighbours was as good now as it was then... Henry/Mike/Plain Jane/Mrs Mangle/Helen Daniels. Good Times!)

Wednesday, 30 April 2008

At some point these mixes must get worse i hear you cry! Fret not my little pumpkins this is a stunner!

1. The Bardots - Pretty O (Starting off with the Norfolk link again with a track from the Bardots debut and best album Eye Baby. Pretty O is a slow builder which turns into a wall of beautiful noise and a stunning pop tune. Fact - The singer was the brother of the singer from Adorable and went on to form Polak)2. Sensitize - Lack of Understanding (Saw Sensitize support Kingmaker at the Waterfront in 1992 and this is the B-Side of the debut single Maniac. A Better song imo with a great rumbling Bassline. Don't think they ever released an album by the two singles were in the words of GLC "Cracking Like".)3. CUD - Hey Boots (Second CUD track to appear due to me playing them loads having bought some of the reissued expanded albums this week. This is from Leggy Mambo which is considered by the Space Cudets to be arguably the best album they released.)4. Candyflip - Redhills Road (A good single from a much maligned band, dont know much about them, bar it being two scouse lads who recorded one album and whose best known track was a cover of Strawberry Fields Forever)5. Airhead - Easy (Great Pop band who were known for the first two singles as Jefferson Airhead. Saw them twice the second time supporting Inspiral Carpets in a fantastic line-up which included Frank and the Walters. This is an album track of the fantastically named Boing! album)6. Resque - She Drives my Train ( "Indie pop ditty" Off the EP of the same name another two single one album band as seemed to be the acceptable deal between 1989 and 1993! Fact - Drummer Wes went on to be the lost 3 member of Carter USM by replacing the drum machine!)7. Eugenius - Mary Queen of Scots (The Scottish band that were previously Captain America and The Vaselines and much loved by Kurt Cobain. This track was a single on Creation in 1993 and a good one at that. The Captain America/Eugenius/Vaselines legacy is long overdue a retrospective release as apart from the Oomalama album everything is stupidly hard to get hold of! (Ever tried googling Captain America music!!!!))8. Urusei Yatsura - Plastic Ashtray ( Another Scottish band who like feedback and fuzzy guitars. From the We are Yatsura album I remember seeing them play this track at Norwich Arts Centre standing next to the late great John Peel. That was a moment)9. Five Thirty - You (Another one album band "Bed". This was one of the singles of a really good album only marred by underwelming production that leaves you wanting to turn everything up! Singer went on to form The Nubiles)10. Inspiral Carpets - Butterfly (An early early song from another of my all time favourite bands whom I have seem 6 times now, If you haven't got them check out Clint Boon and Tom Hingley's solo albums which are excellent pieces in their own right. Fact - Cool as Fuck)11. Ride - Vapour Trail (Live) (recorded for BBC Radio1 in 1991 from the Town and Country Club in London. This is one of my fav Ride Tracks. Loz's drumming on this track is exceptional. Fact - Apparently its Andy Bell's fault they have not reunited!)12. S*M*A*S*H - Petal Buzz ( Now let me get this right they were part of the New Wave of the New Wave scene (I give up!) Which from what I remember consisted of 5 bands only, along with These Animal Men, Compulsion, Nubiles and Blessed Ethel. Saw them live a couple of times have some decent songs although the singer always looked really old and straight from the 70's punk Scene)13. New Fast Automatic Daffodils - Get Better ( Fifth single from the odd manc's. This track was also included on the weird and wonderful Pigeonhole album. Again no career retrospective available which is a shame. Fact - My girlfriend dislikes this album!)14. Flowered Up - Better Life ( Second song to appear by F UP again not an album track this was a the last ever single from the band released 18 months after Weekender on 7" only. Another great song which hinted at a slightly different direction. Flowered Up seem to have got back together a few times over the last few years and have been very low key with a couple of new tracks appearing in My Space. Fact - Barry Mooncult the dancer was the first naked person I saw on stage)15. Batman - Mr Freeze 1960s soundtrack ( A little taster from a great CD I found featured music and clips from the original and unavailable 1960's Batman TV Show)

Tuesday, 29 April 2008

I have had a couple of very nice comments so far and would love to hear anything you have to say. I am a prime cuplrit for not leaving enough comments but i have seen the error of my ways!!

Boxerbear Vol 4 created and should appear in the next 48 hours and i might be having a guest mixmaker appear shortly with a completely different taste in music to keep this going! Exited?? You should be mon.....

Monday, 28 April 2008

Here is Volume 3 of the hugely infuential (sic) Boxerbear Mixes. Hope u enjoy this one. Still havent purchased a record player that i can transform my old tunes from yet, but i am working on it! Plenty to keep you going in the meantime....

1. Revenge - Pineapple Face (Lead track from Peter Hook's first side project Revenge's first album -One True Passion, Can still hear its Hooky with the rumbling bass. The album was a mixed bag but this is a fine song)2. The Railway Children - Music Stop (This track off the Music Stop 3 track EP was one of my most played cassettes ever. The Native Place album was a brilliant piece of work and how they never really stepped off the lower level touring rung is beyond me.)3.Revolver - Heaven Sent an Angel (A track I wished I could play on guitar, swooping melody and fey voices ahoy. Another band who were in the "Shoegaze set" and again had so many ideas in their locker. Most of the stuff they released was excellent. Check out the albums and EP's on E-Bay, you wont be sorry)4. Dr Phibes and the House of Wax Equations - Hazy Lazy Hologram (Edit) ( A band that confused me a little alongside people like Levitation and Bark Psychosis as to if they were good or too indulgent. Dr Phibes were I suppose Space Rock, plenty of feedback and sonicness. The album was good but this was the standout. I think they only release one album which was a shame)5. Moose - Uptown Invisible (The Sonny and Me mini album was one of the first CD's I ever bought alongside Inspiral Carpets- Life and ahem a Danny Wilson album. Band I never saw live which I regret. Released a number of albums and EP's which spanned lots of different styles such as Shoegaze, Slacker, Indie Pop, but generally excellent music. This is from the Honey Bee LP)6.Unbeleivable Truth - Settle Down (Mostly known for having Thom Yorkes brother in the band, A fact that does not put me off despite my dislike for most things Radiohead! Another story another post!! But a different kettle of fish, great little acoustic rock number from the Oxford Band. )7. Spirea X - Chlorine Dream ( A single from 1991, Spirea X were a band formed by Jim Beattie who was formally the guitarist in Primal Scream. Haven't managed to get hold of the album Fireblade Skies, but is on my list of must find on ebay, but the singles were excellent, this being the best.)8. The Wonderstuff - Inertia (Ok so even my mum knows Dizzy and Size of a Cow but having revisited the best of recently I realised that many of my fav tracks weren't the Singles! This is from Never Loved Elvis and like most of the album is great. Saw them a couple of years ago when they reformed and Miles is still a great gobby frontman of a great band. The new LP's aren't too shabby either despite having had no publicity!!)9. Into Paradise - Dreaming (bought the Chuchtown CD for 3.99 in about 1993 and loved it. Never saw they live don't have any other records by them but a wonderful record. This track was the reason I bought the CD as I had heard it on the Mark Goodyear Evening Session which along with Peel was my marker for new music in the days before Tinternet!)10. Ride - The Model (Love Ride and wish they would reform. Had the pleasure of meeting Mark Gardener and Loz Colbert at one of Mark's Solo gigs a couple of years ago and was in awe. Lovely guys and signed a CD for me despite me spouting on about Nowhere being the Soundtrack of the 1st year of highschool in a drunken fanboy manner!! This is a cover of Kraftwerk off the Ruby Trax Comp album)11. Midway Still - I Wont Try (Saw the "Fraggle" Rockers a couple of times once supporting MC4 and once Back to the Planet. Great band who entire output has recently been re-released as one double album in the last year, called appropriately "I Wont Try". I have not got that but have the two albums Dial Square and Lifes Too Long, so there!.)12. Cosmic Rough Riders - Glastonbury Re-Visited (More recent than most bands on my comp but they kinda remind me of 1991 and thats in a nice way. The album Too Close to See Too far, is imo the best summer driving album ever, so if you haven't got it buy it! This alas is not from that (Boo Hiss) But is still great (Horray!) From the Deliverance album by the Scottish 4 piece)13. Sugar - Tilted (Bob Mould's post Husker Du post Solo V1 band Sugar were superb. I saw them on the Copper Blue Tour at the UEA and they started with This Act We Act and I remember thinking that how one guitar could A)Be that damned loud and B)Make such a great noise. This is from the second Album Beaster, and needs to be played very loud!!!)14. Happy Mondays - Staying Alive (12" mix) (Anyone who knows me will be amazed that Shaun Ryder hasn't appeared in the first 2 Boxerbear mixes knowing my devotion for the guy and his musical output. I succumbed and plumped for a cover version for something a little different. Happy Mondays can do no wrong in my eyes)15. Carter USM - After The Watershed (To finish a little Carter to close on a crash, I would like to see them live in Brixton in December but alas my liking for them is not matched by many people I know these days, Enjoy!)

Footnote:As ever if any musicians or labels dont wish me to include thier music please drop me a line and i will remove it straight away. I mean no harm or to make any money, and just see it as promoting bands that i love to others, and whose music maybe hard to get hold of.